As it did my whole life, dance consumed my high school years as well. Being a competitive dancer was hard and exhausting. I brought my homework to the studio and worked with everyone there on his or her own schoolwork as well. We all helped each other out because we knew how long we would all be there and how hard it was to do homework when you get home at 9:30pm on a school night. My teachers would let me sit out if I had too much homework because they knew school and my grades cam before dance. Dance gave me skills I use today such as time management, a work ethic, and teaching tips. It gave me something to strive for but to remember there was more out in the world than only dance and that I needed to study to go to college and get such a career that would grant me the opportunity to continue dancing.
Varying only a little, I was with the same girls my whole life. They were not only my dance team; they were the sisters I didn’t have at home. By my senior year, there were 17 on my team, which was hard, but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Each girl holds a special place in my heart and even though we speak often, I miss them immensely. The dance team taught me what it meant to want something so bad and work so hard for it. When I was younger, school came easy. Not anymore unfortunately. However, I always wanted to be like the older girls and I strived to look like them in everything I did. I learned how to push myself to the limit and what it meant to persevere even through rough times. My hard work paid off and I began moving up with the older girls and I became an example to the younger girls that it was possible.
I have one dance teacher to this day who I love immensely and would do anything for. She has been nothing but supportive in everything I have done; even when I was contemplating quitting, she backed me up because she wanted what was best for me. She gave me a few scares, especially with her fall on the ice after two hip replacements. She was older and the wisest woman I had ever met. She gave a breath of fresh air in her dancing even though she was limited. She left the studio about two years back for her health. I was lost without her but I continue contact and I probably owe her a phone call now.
My family and extended family have always have always had the opportunity for a college education. My parents both have degrees and my aunt has multiple undergraduate and graduate level degrees; it was always impressed upon me the importance of a college education. I had always heard to "work smart, not hard." The only way this could be accomplished was through higher education in order to secure a professional career rather than a "job".
I've recently witnessed my mom go back to school after many years because she wanted to better herself. This instilled a work ethic in me to figure out my education in order to succeed and achieve my desired occupation or career. A career should evolve out of a passion or personal interest and that is why I have chosen to work in the pediatric end of communicative disorders. My love of children and watching them grow and learn even through tough times has given me a drive for my schoolwork.
Not only for Career purposes, academics were always very important in my house. I was always reminded to sacrifice a little fun now for the reward later. To go to work happy and excited everyday was far better than punching a clock and paying the bills. How can anyone do this? An education, especially a college one. I was always told by my mom how lucky I was to discover what I wanted to do so early in life so that I could start way earlier than she did. My mom changed careers very late in life when she finally discovered what she wanted to do. What watching this has done for me, is to show me that no matter what, work hard in school and you will achieve your goals. The most important building block to this structure of life and future is education. It was instilled in my parents from when they were young and it was instilled in me because of that.
As it did my whole life, dance consumed my high school years as well. Being a competitive dancer was hard and exhausting. I brought my homework to the studio and worked with everyone there on his or her own schoolwork as well. We all helped each other out because we knew how long we would all be there and how hard it was to do homework when you get home at 9:30pm on a school night. My teachers would let me sit out if I had too much homework because they knew school and my grades cam before dance. Dance gave me skills I use today such as time management, a work ethic, and teaching tips. It gave me something to strive for but to remember there was more out in the world than only dance and that I needed to study to go to college and get such a career that would grant me the opportunity to continue dancing.
Varying only a little, I was with the same girls my whole life. They were not only my dance team; they were the sisters I didn’t have at home. By my senior year, there were 17 on my team, which was hard, but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Each girl holds a special place in my heart and even though we speak often, I miss them immensely. The dance team taught me what it meant to want something so bad and work so hard for it. When I was younger, school came easy. Not anymore unfortunately. However, I always wanted to be like the older girls and I strived to look like them in everything I did. I learned how to push myself to the limit and what it meant to persevere even through rough times. My hard work paid off and I began moving up with the older girls and I became an example to the younger girls that it was possible.
I have one dance teacher to this day who I love immensely and would do anything for. She has been nothing but supportive in everything I have done; even when I was contemplating quitting, she backed me up because she wanted what was best for me. She gave me a few scares, especially with her fall on the ice after two hip replacements. She was older and the wisest woman I had ever met. She gave a breath of fresh air in her dancing even though she was limited. She left the studio about two years back for her health. I was lost without her but I continue contact and I probably owe her a phone call now.
My family and extended family have always have always had the opportunity for a college education. My parents both have degrees and my aunt has multiple undergraduate and graduate level degrees; it was always impressed upon me the importance of a college education. I had always heard to "work smart, not hard." The only way this could be accomplished was through higher education in order to secure a professional career rather than a "job".
I've recently witnessed my mom go back to school after many years because she wanted to better herself. This instilled a work ethic in me to figure out my education in order to succeed and achieve my desired occupation or career. A career should evolve out of a passion or personal interest and that is why I have chosen to work in the pediatric end of communicative disorders. My love of children and watching them grow and learn even through tough times has given me a drive for my schoolwork.
Not only for Career purposes, academics were always very important in my house. I was always reminded to sacrifice a little fun now for the reward later. To go to work happy and excited everyday was far better than punching a clock and paying the bills. How can anyone do this? An education, especially a college one. I was always told by my mom how lucky I was to discover what I wanted to do so early in life so that I could start way earlier than she did. My mom changed careers very late in life when she finally discovered what she wanted to do. What watching this has done for me, is to show me that no matter what, work hard in school and you will achieve your goals. The most important building block to this structure of life and future is education. It was instilled in my parents from when they were young and it was instilled in me because of that.